Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation

Performing an Out-of-Place Worker Node Update by Replacing an Existing Node Pool with a New Node Pool

Find out how to update the properties of worker nodes in a node pool by replacing the original node pool with a new node pool that has new worker nodes with the required properties, using Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE).

You can update the properties of worker nodes in a node pool by replacing the original node pool with a new node pool that has new worker nodes with the required properties.

Having created the new node pool and specified the worker node properties you require, you drain existing worker nodes in the original node pool to prevent new pods starting and to delete existing pods. You can then delete the original node pool. When new worker nodes are started in the new node pool, they have the properties you specified.

Using the Console

To perform an 'out-of-place' update of a node pool in a cluster, by creating a new node pool:

  1. Open the navigation menu and click Developer Services. Under Containers & Artifacts, click Kubernetes Clusters (OKE).
  2. Choose a Compartment you have permission to work in.
  3. On the Cluster List page, click the name of the cluster where you want to update worker node properties.

  4. On the Cluster page, display the Node Pools tab, and then click Add Node Pool to create a new node pool and specify the required worker node properties.

    Note that if you specify a different Kubernetes version, the version you specify must be compatible with the version that is running on the control plane nodes. See Upgrading Clusters to Newer Kubernetes Versions.

  5. If there are labels attached to worker nodes in the original node pool and those labels are used by selectors (for example, to determine the nodes on which to run pods), then use the kubectl label nodes command to attach the same labels to the new worker nodes in the new node pool. See Assigning Pods to Nodes in the Kubernetes documentation.

  6. For the first worker node in the original node pool, prevent new pods from starting and delete existing pods by entering:

    kubectl drain <node_name>

    For more information:

    Recommended: Leverage pod disruption budgets as appropriate for your application to ensure that there's a sufficient number of replica pods running throughout the drain operation.

  7. Repeat the previous step for each remaining worker node in the node pool, until all the worker nodes have been drained from the original node pool.

    When you have drained all the worker nodes from the original node pool and pods are running on worker nodes in the new node pool, you can delete the original node pool.

  8. On the Cluster page, display the Node Pools tab, and then select Delete Node Pool from the Actions menu beside the original node pool.

    The original node pool and all its worker nodes are deleted.

Using the CLI

For information about using the CLI, see Command Line Interface (CLI). For a complete list of flags and options available for CLI commands, see the Command Line Reference.

To perform an 'out-of-place' worker node update

First create a new node pool with the worker node properties you require:

oci ce node-pool create \
--cluster-id <cluster-ocid> \
--name <node-pool-name> \
--node-image-id <image-ocid> \
--compartment-id <compartment-ocid> \
--kubernetes-version <version> \
--node-shape <shape> \
--placement-configs "[{\"availability-domain\":\"<domain-name>\", \"subnet-id\":\"<subnet-ocid>\"}]" \
--size <number-of-nodes> \
[OPTIONS]

Then, for each worker node in the original node pool, prevent new pods from starting and delete existing pods by draining each worker node in turn:

kubectl drain <node_name>

Finally, delete the original node pool:

oci ce node-pool delete --node-pool-id <node-pool-ocid> [OPTIONS]

For example: 

oci ce node-pool create \
--cluster-id ocid1.cluster.oc1.iad.aaa____qea \
--name finance-node-pool \
--node-image-id oocid1.image.oc1.iad.aaa______vpq \
--compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..aaa____fda \
--kubernetes-version v1.24.1 \
--node-shape VM.Standard2.1 \
--placement-configs "[{\"availability-domain\":\"s__D:US-ASHBURN-AD-1\", \"subnet-id\":\"ocid1.subnet.oc1.iad.aaa______2sq\"}]" \
--size 1
kubectl drain 10.0.10.196
kubectl drain 10.0.10.18
kubectl drain 10.0.10.84
oci ce node-pool delete --node-pool-id ocid1.nodepool.oc1.iad.aaaaaaa______eya